Chinese-Slovak bilingual school opens in Banská Bystrica

The Secondary School Gymnázium Mikulaša Kováča in Banská Bystrica opened a new field of study on Monday: a five-year Chinese-Slovak bilingual programme. As Chinese Ambassador to Slovakia Lin Lin highlighted at the opening ceremony, such a project is unique not only in Slovakia but also in Central and Eastern Europe. "If the project at this school is successful, we'll be glad to include other schools in the programme," added Lin Lin. The school is launching the Chinese programme, while it already has 13 years of experience with a Spanish-Slovak bilingual programme. The school is opening one class with 30 students. In the first year, students will focus on an intensive learning of the Chinese language - with 20 hours a week. Moreover, they will be regularly tested and evaluated on their progress of the Chinese language by professors and the headmaster from the Confucius Institute.